Future of Mobility: Urban Strategy
Jesse Norman Excerpts(5 years, 9 months ago)
Written StatementsRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Jesse Norman)
The UK is in the early stages of a transport revolution. For much of the past half century, many of the improvements to transport have been gradual and incremental, focused on increasing the capacity of existing infrastructure to meet growing demand. Yet today important new technologies are emerging that will transform transport and travel. Zero tailpipe emission cars are replacing those powered by fossil fuels. Self-driving vehicles have the potential to allow people with mobility issues to enjoy far greater freedom to travel, and advances in data production and use are already improving the way that transport services are devised, planned and delivered.
If they are properly managed, the transport technologies of the future will not just make journeys faster; they will also make them safer, easier, more comfortable and more affordable. They will make our towns and cities quieter and less polluted, and they will give us the option to see mobility as a service, integrated and accessible to all.
But this transformation potentially offers huge industrial opportunities as well, including new high quality jobs, new investment and increased national productivity.
The Government have put the future of mobility at the heart of their industrial strategy in an effort to take full advantage of these extraordinary opportunities. With a long history of transport innovation, a world-class research base and many established technology leaders, the UK is well placed to harness its domestic expertise and to profit from a growing market for cleaner, safer and more efficient transport.
Such fundamental change in transport within a relatively short period of time, and across so many different technologies, is unprecedented. The sector is at a point of inflection. The window of opportunity is currently open; but for how much longer it will be so, no one can say.
Today the Government are publishing their “Future of Mobility: Urban Strategy”. This sets out their approach to working with innovators, companies, local authorities and other stakeholders in order to harness the developing benefits of new urban mobility technologies.
In the “Future of Mobility: Urban Strategy”, the Government have:
Outlined the benefits they want mobility innovation to deliver, and the principles by which to achieve them;
Launched an ambitious regulatory review;
Established a wide programme of work to meet the grand challenge.
Alongside this document they have:
Launched a £90 million competition for cities to deliver future of mobility zones, which follows £60 million awarded to 10 cities across the UK via the transforming cities fund;
Published a response to the last mile call for evidence they conducted in summer;
Outlined next steps on the e-cargo bike grant.
As a country, our approach to these technologies will need to adapt over the coming decades. The Government will need to gather and respond to evidence of the impacts of new mobility technologies and services as they emerge. They will also need to set out their thinking on the future of rural mobility in due course, to explore how the benefits of transport innovation can be enjoyed by everyone, wherever they live.
We have an extraordinary opportunity here—to put this country at the heart of the next mobility revolution, and deliver a cleaner, greener, more productive and more inclusive country for future generations.
I have laid a copy of “Future of Mobility: Urban Strategy” in the Libraries of both Houses.
The attachment can be viewed online at: http://www. parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2019-03-19/HCWS1424/.
[HCWS1424]
Draft Aviation Noise (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019
Draft Aviation Statistics (Amendment ETC.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019
Draft Aviation Safety (Amendment Etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019
Jesse Norman Excerpts(5 years, 9 months ago)
General CommitteesRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Jesse Norman)
I beg to move,
That the Committee has considered the draft Aviation Noise (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.
The Chair
With this it will be convenient to consider the draft Aviation Statistics (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 and the draft Aviation Safety (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.
Jesse Norman
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Gray. The draft instruments that we are considering will be made under the powers conferred by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 and will be needed if the UK leaves the European Union without a deal. The Government’s priority is still to leave the European Union with a deal, but of course we must make all reasonable plans to prepare for a no-deal scenario, and that includes ensuring that there is a functioning statute book for aviation.
The first draft instrument, on aviation noise, makes amendments to domestic legislation and a directly applicable EU regulation that relate to aviation noise certification and the circumstances in which operating restrictions are considered at airports. The relevant regulations are, first, the Aeroplane Noise Regulations 1999, which were made to implement in UK law EU obligations relating to noise certification requirements in respect of propeller-driven and civil subsonic jet aeroplanes. The noise regulations prohibit certain aircraft from taking off or landing in the UK without having an in-force noise certificate issued by the UK or a competent authority of the state of registry that is recognised by the UK.
Secondly, the Air Navigation (Environmental Standards For Non-EASA Aircraft) Order 2008, also known as the environmental standards order, sets out the environmental standards relating to the noise and emissions of specific UK-registered aircraft that are not subject to the basic EU aviation safety regulation—EU regulation 2018/1139—and regulation by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency. Those regulations apply largely to light and microlight aircraft.
Thirdly, EU regulation 598/2014, commonly known as regulation 598, establishes the rules and procedures with regard to the introduction of operating restrictions at certain EU airports, based on a balanced approach to noise management, which has been an agreed International Civil Aviation Organisation principle since 2001. Finally, the Airports (Noise-related Operating Restrictions) (England and Wales) Regulations 2018, otherwise known as the operating restrictions regulations, appointed competent authorities for England and Wales for the purposes of regulation 598. The withdrawal Act will retain EU regulation 598 in its entirety, on exit day, in UK law.
The draft instrument makes the necessary changes to the noise regulations, the environmental standards order and the operating restrictions regulations to ensure that the legislative framework continues to function correctly after exit day. The noise regulations are being amended so that in the UK the same noise certification requirements apply to aeroplanes registered in a European economic area state which apply to other foreign-registered aeroplanes. That will in effect end the automatic recognition of noise certificates granted in the EU and EEA. Rather than the UK automatically recognising noise certificates granted in the EU and EEA, noise certificates from the EU and EEA will be subject to the same rules that currently apply to noise certification of aircraft from non-EU and non-EEA countries. The requirements relating to certification of UK-registered aeroplanes are being amended so that they apply only to use in the UK rather than use in the EU and EEA. The regulations apply to propeller-driven and civil subsonic jet aeroplanes. That includes light aircraft and commercial passenger aircraft.
Criminal offences for breach of the noise regulations have existed in domestic legislation since 1999 and carry a penalty of up to £2,500. Those offences already apply to third-country operators and to operators of UK-registered aircraft operating in the EU, but not to certain smaller civil subsonic jet aeroplanes registered in an EU member state, EEA state, Gibraltar or Switzerland. The amendments to the noise regulations that I have described mean that from exit day the aircraft will be covered by the offences for breaching the noise regulations.
The changes to the environmental standards order amend the terminology used in the order so that it is aligned with changes made to aviation safety legislation on EU exit. For example, the instrument removes references to EASA. The amendments to regulation 598 provide for obligations conferred on member states under the regulation to be conferred instead directly on the Secretary of State and, where appropriate, on the Northern Ireland Department for Infrastructure or on Scottish Ministers. It includes an obligation on competent authorities to inform the Commission and other member states that operating restrictions are planned to be imposed.
The instrument instead provides for a UK-based relevant authority to be notified in place of the Commission. It also places an obligation on the relevant authority instead of the member state to ensure a right of appeal. The Commission’s power to adopt delegated measures providing for technical updates to the regulation to take account of changes in relevant international rules is conferred instead as a power for the Secretary of State to make regulations subject to the negative resolution procedure. The changes to the operating restrictions regulations reflects a very small amendment to the title to regulation 598 made by the instrument and removes the word “Union”.
When the instrument was debated in Grand Committee in the House of Lords last week, the issues of consultation and independence of competent authorities were raised. As the aviation Minister, Baroness Sugg, said during that debate, the instrument itself does not appoint the competent authorities. That was done last year for England and Wales following extensive consultation. An instrument was laid on 5 March appointing competent authorities for Scotland. It is a requirement under regulation 598 that the competent authorities are independent of any organisation that could be affected by noise-related action. There is a requirement for right of appeal. It is also a requirement under regulation 598 that stakeholders are consulted before any operating restrictions are imposed. That remains unchanged.
The draft aviation statistics instrument amends EU regulations 437/2003 and 1358/2003, and seeks to maintain the status quo with regard to the provision of data by operators of airports served by commercial flights. This is achieved by making technical changes to ensure that retained legislation continues to function, including amending redundant references to the UK being a member state. A further part of the instrument made under the European Communities Act 1972 creates a mechanism to enforce the obligation on airports to provide data, because there is currently no penalty if an airport does not comply.
The SI was initially laid as a proposed negative instrument, but we have accepted the recommendations of the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee to re-lay the SI using the affirmative procedure instead, acknowledging its concerns about the potential impact of the changes on commercial airport operators. I thank the Committees for their work in considering the statutory instrument.
EU regulation 437/2003, referred to as the statistical returns regulation, requires operators of airports served by commercial flights to provide their member state with specified statistical data. In its existing form it specifies information that must be compiled by the member state: in this case, a function carried out by the Civil Aviation Authority. It also requires that the same information must be provided to the European Commission’s statistical office, Eurostat. It further sets in place standards that must be met during the compilation and submission processes.
EU regulation 1358/2003, referred to as the implementing regulation, requires that the process set out in the statistical returns regulation is applied to a set list of airports and updates the list of statistical information that said airports must supply. The list of airports comprises effectively all that see commercial air traffic. The list included 46 airports across the UK at the point of its last update by the EU.
The withdrawal Act will retain EU regulations 437/2003 and 1358/2003 in their entirety on exit day in UK law. The draft instrument that we are considering makes the changes necessary so that those EU regulations continue to function correctly after exit day. It is essential to ensure that the regulatory regime in place after exit continues to allow statistics on the total volumes of passengers and freight using UK airports to be compiled. The gathering of such data and publication of derived figures by the Civil Aviation Authority are activities that are important for Government, the public and the sector itself to be able to monitor performance. Further, the draft instrument amends the statistical returns regulation to remove the duty on the UK to continue to transmit the data to Eurostat. The power to collect statistical data and the obligation on respondents to provide that data are to be retained, with responsibility for the functions being given to the CAA.
The instrument amends the implementing regulation to remove the specific list of airports covered. The list is, in fact, superfluous, as the existing implementing regulation contains a mechanism that sets the burden of data collection at different levels, depending on the volume of traffic seen by an individual airport. The mechanism will remain in the retained EU regulations, so what is expected of airports will stay the same.
The data-collection power provided is an important tool for accessing data, due to the competitive and commercially sensitive nature of the sector. As such, it is important that the legislation continues to operate after the UK has left the EU, and the amendments to the retained EU legislation are essential if that is to be achieved.
During the preparation of the instrument, a review of the statistical returns regulation highlighted the requirement for an enforcement mechanism, to meet the UK’s responsibility as a member state. That is why the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee recommended that the instrument be upgraded to the affirmative procedure. The instrument therefore provides a mechanism whereby the CAA can enforce the obligation on airports to provide the data specified in the statistical returns regulation. In determining the penalty, enforcement mechanisms in similar legislation were considered, so as not to go beyond prior precedent. Consequently, the Department decided to match the enforcement power in the Airport Charges Regulations 2011, with a civil penalty of up to £5,000. That part of the regulations is required regardless of final decisions on the UK’s future relationship with the EU.
Hon. Members may recall that the draft aviation safety instrument was debated in a Delegated Legislation Committee on 19 December 2018. Since then, a new EU regulation was published on 10 January and entered into force on 30 January. That regulation amends a small number of provisions relating to the medical assessment of pilots that were already being corrected by the draft instrument. As a consequence, a few aspects of regulation 318 in the original draft instrument would no longer accurately correct retained EU legislation, as the EU legislation they acted upon would have changed. In particular, the inaccurate aspects of regulation 318, on the medical assessment of pilots, would have been outside the powers of section 8 of the EU withdrawal Act, under which the draft instrument has been made—in other words, ultra vires.
To ensure that the entirety of the draft instrument made proper and correct use of the powers in the EU withdrawal Act, the Government made the decision to withdraw it, correct it and re-lay it at the earliest opportunity. The version of the instrument we are considering today also takes account, therefore, of the new EU regulation, the resulting changes to regulation 318 in this instrument and the minor addition required to regulation 327. The rest of the instrument remains unchanged.
The current instrument corrects five principal EU regulations relating to aviation safety, together with a number of Commission implementing regulations made under them. The five principal EU regulations include regulation 2018/1139, more commonly known as the EASA basic regulation, and regulation 3922/91 on technical harmonisation. Although the latter has been largely superseded by the former, provisions on flight and duty time limitations still apply to the crews of aeroplanes undertaking air taxi, emergency medical services and single-pilot commercial air transport operations. The third of the five regulations is regulation 2111/2005, which establishes the list of air operators banned from operating into the EU on safety grounds; the fourth is regulation 996/2010, which sets requirements for the investigation of air accidents and incidents; and the final one is regulation 376/2014, which establishes requirements for civil aviation occurrence reporting. The implementing regulations each deal with a specific aspect of aviation safety regulation, including the design, construction, maintenance and operation of aircraft; the licensing of flight crew, maintenance engineers and air traffic controllers; the provision of air traffic management and air navigation services; and the design and operation of aerodromes.
The draft instrument makes the changes necessary to ensure that those regulations, when retained in UK law on exit day continue to function correctly. The changes include, for instance, making it clear that the retained legislation applies only to the UK and not
“the territory to which the treaties apply”,
and replacing references to the competent authority with references to the Civil Aviation Authority.
The instrument also transfers certain functions currently undertaken by EASA to the CAA—for example, approving organisations that design aircraft, and certifying the design of aircraft and engine types. Under the EU regulations, the Commission has a number of functions, including the power to adopt regulations, to adopt or amend technical requirements and to make certain limited amendment to the principal EU regulations. These legislative functions will be transferred to the Secretary of State to be exercised through regulations subject to the negative resolution procedure. These powers are very limited, and are designed to ensure that the regulatory system can adapt to technical developments and changes to the international standards adopted by the International Civil Aviation Organisation.
All certificates, licences and approvals issued by EASA or EU EEA states prior to exit day will remain valid in the UK by virtue of the withdrawal Act if they were valid in the UK immediately before exit day. The draft instrument provides that such certificates should be treated as if they were issued by the CAA. With the exception of certificates relating to aircraft design, the instrument also limits the validity of such certificates to two years after exit day, after which time CAA certificates will be required. The CAA needs to issue the safety certificates to have full oversight over aviation safety in the UK, in accordance with the UK’s obligations under the Chicago convention.
As I said in my opening remarks, we are continuing to work to achieve a positive future relationship with the EU, but these instruments are an essential element of our contingency planning for a no-deal exit. They would ensure that, in the event of a no-deal exit from the EU, the UK’s framework for aviation noise, statistics and safety continues to work effectively, and that the aviation industry and consumers have clarity about the regulatory framework that will be in place. I commend the instruments to the Committee.
Jesse Norman
I thank the hon. Members for Kingston upon Hull East and for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey for their questions, which I will address in turn. The first question raised by the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull East was about the number of further SIs to be debated. I am delighted to tell him that I do not expect us to have to debate any further SIs on aviation. Therefore, on the question of grouping—[Interruption.] I am sure colleagues will feel extreme joy. Certainly, there is a little frisson in the ministerial team. That is good news.
The hon. Gentleman raised the question of the cost impact on the CAA. I think he will agree that the number he raised—£192,000—is remarkably small. I reassure him that the CAA is well advanced in managing the overall burden of its scale-up for Brexit. There are something like three more people to be retained or hired, and this sum relates to those people. There are currently 47 full-time equivalent staff in place out of 50, with three expected, so I think the CAA is well on top of the issue.
The hon. Gentleman asked whether we will have to remain part of EASA. He will understand that we wish to continue UK participation in EASA for all kinds of reasons. It is a highly respected organisation. The CAA has always had a very close relationship with it. As we discussed, the CAA was one of the progenitors of EASA. It is in the interest of both the UK and the EU not to disrupt existing safety arrangements. The CAA has not unfortunately been able to hold formal discussions with EASA about EU exit issues, but it is clear, as are we, that it will need to liaise with EASA very closely in the event that this country leaves the EU without a deal. Many of those relationships are already in place.
I am grateful to the hon. Member for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey. I lack his skill for aviation metaphors, such as evacuation, bail out or whatever. He was right to focus on rights. I hope he is reassured that this, as a formal lift-and-shift and modest correction exercise, does nothing to impugn the rights of people as they currently exist under this legislation. Indeed, it seeks to ensure that they are protected by ensuring that the UK statue book continues to work in a functional way for aviation. I hope the Committee supports the statutory instruments.
Question put and agreed to.
Draft Aviation Statistics (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019
Resolved,
That the Committee has considered the draft Aviation Statistics (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.—(Jesse Norman.)
Draft Aviation Safety (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019
Resolved,
That the Committee has considered the draft Aviation Safety (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.—(Jesse Norman.)
Draft Licensing of Operators and International Road Haulage (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019
Jesse Norman Excerpts(5 years, 9 months ago)
General CommitteesRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Jesse Norman)
I beg to move,
That the Committee has considered the draft Licensing of Operators and International Road Haulage (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Hanson. Laid before Parliament on 5 February and made under powers in the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, the regulations are designed to provide a framework for the road haulage market as regards licensing of both UK operators and foreign hauliers coming to this country. The statutory instrument amends EU regulations 1071/2009 and 1072/2009 so that they will operate correctly as retained EU legislation after the UK’s exit from the European Union.
The regulations before the Committee make minimal changes to the two EU regulations and include consequential amendments to domestic legislation that are necessary to ensure that road haulage markets continue to operate effectively. European regulation 1071/2009 provides a common framework for the licensing of transport operators in both the haulage and the public passenger transport industry across all member states of the EU. Under that framework, operators are licensed by national authorities—in Great Britain by the traffic commissioners, and in Northern Ireland by the Department for Infrastructure. Operators are assessed against four criteria: a stable establishment as an operator; good repute; financial standing; and professional competence. The regulations before the Committee will ensure that those standards continue to be applied to UK hauliers—both those operating domestically and those operating internationally. Hauliers from the 27 member states of the EU will, as at present, require a Community licence issued by their own national licensing authority to prove that they meet the regulations’ requirements.
European regulation 1072/2009 sets out common rules for access to the EU road haulage market. It allows appropriately licensed hauliers from EU member states to operate in other member states without further formalities. The retained version of the regulation will continue to provide access to UK markets for EU hauliers, on the same basis as at present.
We of course cannot legislate for what other countries will allow UK hauliers to do in their territory. However, the regulations before the Committee provide for UK hauliers to hold a UK licence for the Community—a new document that will look very similar to the Community licence that hauliers currently hold when operating internationally, and which will be issued according to the same criteria. The European Commission has published draft legislation that would apply to UK hauliers operating in the EU for the first nine months after exit if we should leave without a deal. The Commission’s proposal is based on the UK reciprocating. Although not specifically designed with those proposals in mind, the regulations before the Committee will enable reciprocal conditions for EU hauliers operating in the UK after exit day. The regulations will also aid the negotiation of the future EU-UK roads relationship. As with licences, the regulations ensure that the UK is able to reciprocate as regards any access granted under a future road agreement.
The regulations before the Committee apply to the United Kingdom. Road operator licensing is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland. The statutory instrument recognises that the traffic commissioners do not operate there, and makes consequential amendments to Northern Irish legislation as well as that for Great Britain.
The common access rules set out by EU regulation 1072/2009 include provisions for hauliers from one member state, after having made an international delivery in another member state, to undertake a limited number of domestic haulage deliveries in that state as part of their return trip. That provision, known as cabotage, is retained in the UK version of the regulation. However, an important modification is that the Government may suspend cabotage if, say, it disrupts the domestic market. In the EU version of the regulation, member states have to apply to the European Commission to suspend cabotage.
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport has indicated that he would be prepared to suspend cabotage if reciprocal arrangements were not accorded to UK hauliers. The EU has unilaterally proposed permitting UK hauliers, after the UK’s exit from the EU, to engage in cabotage operations in a limited capacity under its draft legislation. Under this statutory instrument, it would be feasible for the UK to apply similar limitations to EU hauliers operating in the UK.
The draft regulations also make a number of consequential amendments to domestic legislation, mainly to ensure that references to the two EU regulations point to either the EU version or the retained version, as appropriate. We are also amending the Goods Vehicles (Licensing of Operators) Act 1995 to remove a provision that exempts holders of Community licences from the requirement to possess a UK-issued operator’s licence, and reinserting the exemption made in the Goods Vehicles (Licensing of Operators) (Temporary Use in Great Britain) Regulations 1996 under the 1995 Act. We are making those amendments now so that when we come to agree future haulage arrangements with the EU, we can act without having to wait for a primary legislation slot to embody those arrangements in domestic law.
The draft regulations will ensure three things after exit day. First, they will allow the UK to continue to license its road haulage and passenger transport operators to high standards. Secondly, they will provide UK hauliers with appropriate documentation to facilitate their operations in EU member states. Thirdly, they will allow EU member state haulage operators to continue to operate in this country, supporting our industry with imports and exports. I commend the draft regulations to the Committee.
Jesse Norman
I thank the hon. Member for York Central for her barrage of questions, to which I am very happy to respond. She deplores the time that it has taken to introduce the measure. All I would say to her is that the measure makes virtually no changes to the operating arrangements for UK hauliers, and indeed no changes for EU hauliers. It is therefore not something that has required enormous wrenching change of any kind. Essentially, we are tweaking, very slightly, the domestic regime in this area, in order to address legal concerns arising from the UK’s separation from the EU.
The hon. Lady asked whether there will be additional staff costs. I can tell her that as this is a minimal set of changes, there are minimal costs associated with it. There are no additional staff.
In response to another question the hon. Lady raised, we do not expect any additional enforcement, because the existing enforcement agencies function extremely well, as matters stand. She will be aware that the Treasury has agreed to fund any additional costs—up to the limits described—associated with any additional force that may be required, but we do not expect wrenching change in this area.
The hon. Lady will also be aware that these regulations come at this time not only because these things are always subject to negotiations, and we are just one half of a set of negotiators, but because we started out with a high level of alignment, and there has been a high level of mutual understanding and trust between officials in this country and in the EU, as well as in member states.
The hon. Lady raised a question about the Secretary of State having the power under these regulations to suspend operations. I point out to her that that is only for a limited period. Any further extension of the requirement to suspend operations would be subject to proper parliamentary process, as would be appropriate for the exercise of a power of this kind. That is the counterpart of the very liberal approach we are taking towards the EU’s cabotage rights in this opening period.
Rachael Maskell
I am grateful to the Minister for the clarity of his response. Could he set out the timeframe for bringing forward more permanent legislation, which is what I understand he is saying will happen? How will that be brought forward?
Jesse Norman
As I recall, the Secretary of State has the capacity to suspend operations for a period of six months and then for another period of six months, after which the matter must come before Parliament. That is an appropriate use of the power. The purpose of it is to ensure that UK hauliers get a square deal in terms of cabotage, and so enable the rather liberal approach we have taken with regard to the EU. It is an index of how modest the change is that for UK hauliers, the Community licence is changing, in this country, to a UK licence for the Community. It is a very modest change indeed.
The hon. Lady asks whether there have been consultations with industry. My officials are having very close discussions with the industry. That process has been under way for many long months. I also meet regularly with representative bodies of the industry to ensure that we are closely aligned. Many of the measures that we have put forward have been welcomed by them, recognising the fact that the situation is not one that hauliers would have originally voted for or supported at the time of the referendum, but that is up to them.
As to negotiations beyond 2019, the hon. Lady will be aware that the European Commission has already made it clear that for the first nine months after exit, the draft legislation would apply. That legislation, as I have described, based on UK reciprocity, permits a relatively benign environment to continue. After that, the matter is subject to negotiations. Having addressed all those matters, I commend the regulations to the Committee.
Question put and agreed to.
Transport Infrastructure: Essex
Jesse Norman Excerpts(5 years, 9 months ago)
Westminster HallRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Westminster Hall is an alternative Chamber for MPs to hold debates, named after the adjoining Westminster Hall.
Each debate is chaired by an MP from the Panel of Chairs, rather than the Speaker or Deputy Speaker. A Government Minister will give the final speech, and no votes may be called on the debate topic.
This information is provided by Parallel Parliament and does not comprise part of the offical record
The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Jesse Norman)
It is a great pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Stringer. This has been a very interesting debate. Of course, the focus has rightly been on Essex infrastructure, but I am grateful to the hon. Member for York Central (Rachael Maskell) for raising some other issues, and of course I will discuss them all.
Above all, I congratulate my right hon. Friend the Member for Witham (Priti Patel) not only on securing the debate, but on her Churchillian 37-minute speech. That is a new record for me in a Westminster Hall debate. It was very wide-ranging and interesting. She has been absolutely tireless in pressing the claims of not merely her constituency but Essex as a county. She gives indefatigability a bad name. If it were not for our relentless desire to maintain efficiency in the Department for Transport, we would have Patel SWAT teams scrambling every time she moves, and cross-modal engagement klaxons going off every time we heard something. If we did that, we would hear an awful lot of noise, because she has been very active in this area.
I am also aware of the work that my right hon. Friend has done elsewhere—my hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge) touched on this—not just as head of the Great Eastern main line taskforce but as chair of the Essex Business, Transport and Infrastructure Forum, highlighting the importance of infrastructure in building sustainable local communities and strong local economies. That is all extremely welcome.
My right hon. Friend rightly focused on the natural, physical and human endowments that Essex has as a county. It has a very strong local economy and a resident population of 1.5 million-odd people. It has a very entrepreneurial spirit and workforce, and the growing economy reflects that. It is a very exciting place to do business, and that is tremendous. That has drawn on and created a need for transport connectivity.
The nationally important M11 and M25, which colleagues did not mention, and the A12 and A120 run through the county, and there are major local roads, including the A13, the A27—my hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East was very eloquent on that topic—the A100 and the A414. Rail connections ensure that the county remains tightly linked to London, with three main lines, the London underground to Upminster and branch lines serving more than 55 stations. It would be wrong not to mention its international gateway of Stansted and Southend, which is growing very rapidly, as my right hon. Friend the Member for Witham mentioned. Harwich provides nationally important sea connections to Holland and Denmark. There are also Tilbury and the new London Gateway port. It is a very exciting place.
My right hon. Friend mentioned Essex’s agricultural strength. It cannot quite match the astonishing range, diversity and depth of my county of Herefordshire, but it is right up there. As I am sure she will agree, the transport network is not just of critical importance to the economic growth and development of Essex, but of national significance. It is an important piece of infrastructure in its wider economic growth and development benefits across the country.
Let me touch on the issues that my right hon. Friend raised in some depth. She is right to focus on the importance of infrastructure. We have recognised that and have invested in the strategic road network, which is critical to delivering that growth. In December 2014 the Government launched the first road investment strategy, which outlined how more than £15 billion is to be invested in our strategic roads between 2015 and 2021. That is the biggest upgrade to strategic roads in a generation, and it will be exceeded in RIS2 from 2025, which is of the scale of £25 billion.
The hon. Member for York Central rightly drew attention to the importance of combating emissions. We have a very strong air quality strategy and have launched an enormous amount of work not just on emissions but on decarbonisation. We have a lot of work about to come out shortly on future mobility, electric vehicles and the like. It includes not just cars, but the full panoply of electric vehicles that are transforming our streets.
It is important to recognise that some road building is vital, and it would be a poor Minister who did not recognise both that and the validity of claims for road building in counties, not merely as an economic and housing enabler, but as an investment in skills, supply chains and businesses, and one that will prepare us for a green future with electric and, in due course, autonomous vehicles.
Jesse Norman
I have so much to get through in only 10 minutes. I will be delighted to come back to the hon. Lady when I mention her remarks later in my speech, but I will make the important point that we must recognise balance and that, even by her lights of supporting skills and reducing emissions in the longer term, this is actually an enlightened policy. Much of it is about maintenance—autonomous vehicles will require high-quality roads—and that process cannot begin too soon. RIS1 and RIS2 place a very high emphasis on maintenance.
To zero-in on Essex, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witham pointed out that the first road investment strategy includes the widening of the A12 between junction 19 at Chelmsford and junction 25 at Marks Tey, where it currently joins the A120. Delivery of that scheme remains a top priority for my Department, as it is an important strategic route for continued economic prosperity across the region. She also highlighted the delays that have affected the scheme. I will not get into the causation, and she has been very delicate in hinting at causation without specifically stating it. As she knows, there was an initial re-profiling delay, but the fundamental delay was not at all of the Government’s making. Local priorities have changed and we are seeking to accommodate those changes. I will respond to her specific questions—we owe her that as she was kind enough to share them in advance—but I can assure the Chamber that we understand the frustration felt by local communities that works will not begin by March 2020 as was originally proposed. We very much understand that.
We have been considering how best to take forward the A12 scheme in the light of the interaction with the proposed garden community in Marks Tey, as my right hon. Friend touched on. That interdependency was of course raised by the Planning Inspectorate, which examined those housing proposals in June 2018. We believe—as I think she does—that it is important to find the right long-term solution for the local community and to support delivery of the proposed housing at Marks Tey, which would mean the delivery of up to 24,000 much-needed homes.
Highways England is working with partners in Government, local planning authorities and promoters of the new housing development. The next step is for Highways England to consult on the revised route options for the A12 between junctions 24 and 25. The route options will have regard to the housing proposals and—we hope—ensure that the improvements are right for those who use the A12 now and in the future. In the light of the recent delays, Highways England’s latest delivery plan, which was published in July 2018, proposes that works for the A12 begin in the second road investment period, from 2020 to 2025. I wish that were otherwise, but we have had our hand forced somewhat and are scrambling to make the best of the situation.
As I am sure my right hon. Friend will also know, Essex has ambitious plans for housing delivery. The housing White Paper set out the Government’s wider vision to address issues such as unaffordable housing and the provision of proper transport infrastructure, and the Department works closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government in that area. My hon. Friend the Member for Colchester (Will Quince) mentioned housing infrastructure fund bids. They are a crucial part of Essex’s further development, and I say good luck to any hon. Member in the Chamber. Trying to tie in the response to those housing bids with local and strategic transport links is part of the importance of our wider strategic approach, unlocking new housing developments with good transport connections in places where people want to live. Essex is delivering that kind of substantial housing growth in major sites such as Braintree, Chelmsford and Marks Tey, which are critical to meet housing demand. Of course, we recognise the centrality of transport to making them happen.
Well-planned, well-designed and locally-led garden communities can play a vital role in helping to meet this country’s housing needs well into the future. That is why the Government recognise and have invested in the development of capacity towards 23 places across the country as part of our garden communities programme. We are pleased that Essex County Council has decided to further support North Essex Garden Communities by submitting a HIF bid. That has the potential to make an enormous difference, including by releasing funding that ensures that the proposed A12 improvements can accommodate and allow access to the garden communities at Marks Tey, subject to further public consultation.
There has been some concern that the delay to the A12 scheme will compromise the proposal to dual the A120 between Braintree and Marks Tey, as my right hon. Friend the Member for Witham mentioned. Essex County Council is developing that scheme for potential inclusion in the second road investment strategy. I can confirm that, from our perspective, the A12 delay does not affect or compromise consideration of the A120 scheme and that, although we cannot make announcements on the fly, I expect us to make a consolidated set of announcements on this area and others later in the year.
The A120 is recognised as an important route in the wider transport network, but currently the single-carriageway section between Braintree and the A12 near Colchester is regularly a bottleneck, as has been pointed out. The heavy traffic passing through the area is a burden on the local villages and towns. We have supported Essex County Council with a contribution of £4 million to the development work for an affordable and deliverable improvement scheme for the A120. I thank the council and take my hat off to Councillor Kevin Bentley, who is sitting in the Public Gallery, for their excellent work in developing those proposals, including taking them through a non-statutory public consultation on a range of options.
The council’s favoured option for the A120 scheme, which was announced in June 2018, is supported by a strong analytical assessment and has gained the backing of both the public and the local business community. It forms the foundation for consideration of the scheme as a candidate in the competition for the bidding process of our second road investment strategy, which focuses on the period between 2020 and 2025 and has been subject to enormous competition, as colleagues will understand. It is in the nature of politics that everyone regards their own bid as the only one that the Government should ever meet and do so as a priority, and this debate has been no different. I remind colleagues that that can be said for every single Member of this House, and across all parties.
Submissions in favour of the A120 upgrade have been received but there was also support for the schemes that were originally included in RIS1 for development in RIS2, such as the A12 Colchester bypass widening that we discussed and the improvement of the A12-M25 to Chelmsford. They are all being considered for inclusion in RIS2, alongside other proposals from across the country.
Beyond the upgrades and improvement schemes, the Government continue to invest in essential maintenance of the road network. For the period 2018-19, £34.8 million was allocated for Essex road maintenance, with a further figure of almost £700,000 earmarked for pothole action funding in the area. Through the local growth fund, we have also allocated £15 million to the proposed £28.7 million improvements to the A127-A130 Fairglen interchange, which will improve traffic flow, journey times and road safety at an important local junction. Essex County Council is developing the final business case and, if the scheme is approved, work could start in the summer of 2020 and be completed in early 2022.
My right hon. Friend rightly mentioned the lower Thames crossing. If ever there were a scheme that underlined—contrary to the shadow Minister’s suggestions —the genuinely strategic nature of the investment that this country is making, that would be it, with between £4.4 billion and £6.2 billion-worth of investment to increase capacity by 70% for drivers crossing the Thames to the east of London. That investment is orientated absolutely towards the longer term. A Government preoccupied with the short term could not make an investment of that scale or magnitude, or with such a degree of planning. It will almost double the road capacity across the River Thames to the east of London. It is the largest single road investment project in the UK since the M25 was completed more than 30 years ago.
Obviously, there is a need for better road connectivity between Essex and Kent, and we believe that the benefits of the lower Thames crossing are clear. We expect it to have a positive impact on the major road network, contribute to a reduction in the number of vehicles using the Dartford crossing—releasing some of the pressure on it—and assist and support local communities.
The other strategic connection is of course rail. My right hon. Friend mentioned the importance to the Essex economy of the Great Eastern main line and the West Anglia main line. The Government recognise that and—again, contrary to the imputation that we are not being strategic—are pursuing the biggest railway modernisation programme since Victorian times, with investment continuing at record levels. That was announced by the Secretary of State within the final statement of funds available—approximately £47.9 billion will be spent during the period 2019 to 2024, which is a run rate of about £10 billion a year. That is an astonishing level of investment. Greater Anglia is committed, through the franchise, to delivering an entirely new train fleet, which will increase passenger capacity with new high-quality rolling stock. The first of 169 new trains are on course to enter service from the end of May 2019, with the full roll-out expected to be completed by the end of 2020. That £1.4 billion train replacement programme is the most significant investment in new trains for East Anglia.
I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the work done by the Great Eastern main line taskforce, chaired now by my right hon. Friend and previously by my hon. Friend the Member for Colchester. It is working to complete the study undertaken by Network Rail, which will help to prioritise future rail enhancements on the main line to meet predicted growth, and updates to a previous route study. My right hon. Friend mentioned a number of other rail schemes. If I may, I will refer those via officials to the Under-Secretary of State for Transport, my hon. Friend the Member for Harrogate and Knaresborough (Andrew Jones), as he can respond in more detail to her questions.
The hon. Member for York Central asked if we would take a more strategic view. I refer her to the work we are doing on intermodal connectivity, the link between transport and housing and the longevity of the investment scheme. Let us not forget that there was no five-year investment programme before 2015. We are now preparing for a second five-year road investment scheme. We are extending that to major roads, and I hope that in due course we will extend it to a five-year investment scheme to support local authorities on local roads. We take these things very seriously. She mentioned light rail, and I am delighted that we announced a consultation on it a few weeks ago. I look forward to her contribution and those of many others. She rightly mentioned active travel, in which we have significantly improved investment since 2010, and I hope that will continue to do that.
On Highways England designated funds, RIS2 is not yet completed so it is too early to say that money has not been spent, but we welcome further bids from local authorities and other interested parties. I am taking steps to increase the availability of designated funds in future.
Jesse Norman
Yes; RIS1 has not yet completed so it is premature to suggest that the money has not been used.
My hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East seductively enticed me towards a tiny change of one letter to another—a wafer-thin change. I am grateful to him for that. He pointed out the importance of widening for consistent speeds, with the impetus on re-trunking with a focus on the airport. I understand that, but the key question is whether either the A127 or the A13 should be trunked. Discussions are happening, or are about to happen, with local councils on that question. I can make no judgment on the merits of the case—that is a matter for official scrutiny and discussion—but I would have some worries about the potential environmental impact. It is important that there be a properly wide-ranging conversation, and we are engaging on that. If my hon. Friend wishes to discuss that further, I would be happy to meet him.
My hon. Friend the Member for Colchester rightly pointed out the importance of HIF bids and the centrality of the new link road between the A133 and the A120, which he has called for. I cannot comment on the road, but his emphasis on road safety is right. I have addressed many of the other issues he raised already. I would be delighted to meet him to talk about the A12. It is important that we adopt a strategic approach when we have such meetings, not least because there has been a lot of discussion with Essex MPs in any case on roads. We can have one-off meetings, but it is helpful to have them in the context of a wider strategic conversation.
My right hon. Friend the Member for Witham asked at what point a Government Minister will give leadership. I have explained that we are still reliant on a series of local decisions. I would be delighted to meet her to discuss the best way to take forward the A12 scheme. Once those housing proposals are settled, we will be in a much better place. Highways England, which works closely with Essex County Council and other district councils in promoting garden communities and developing the realignment options for the A12, is not in a position—neither are we—to commit now to a realignment of the A12. That is potentially a very significant additional cost, but may prove not to be needed in the event that the housing proposals do not go ahead. She is right to maintain the tempo and we will meet her on that, but we are reliant on decisions made locally. I understand that the council has agreed to undertake the work requested by the inspector; that is scheduled to be completed by June 2019, with a public consultation expected in autumn 2019. With luck, decisions on route alignment can be made in a co-ordinated fashion after that.
My right hon. Friend asked what assessment the Government may have made on the impact of the delays on the economy and on other strategic road schemes. We are acutely aware of the economic impact, which is why it is a priority for us to ensure that we get the right solution across all the considerations. The Government have made it clear that we are committed to strategic road schemes such as the A120 dualling and the delays. We also believe that the A12 scheme delays should not affect the prospects for the A120 proposal or compromise its consideration for inclusion in RIS2.
My right hon. Friend asked what has been done to support constituents who live close to the A12 and are unable to sell properties, and the victims of blight. I have massive sympathy for people in that situation—it goes with uncertainty about these decisions. We have not been the cause of that uncertainty. There are established rules about property and compensation for residents affected by major infrastructure proposals. They apply in this case, but I understand the human cost of the delay.
My right hon. Friend asked whether I recognised that the delays to the A12 widening scheme might delay plans to widen the A12 north of junction 25. The scheme to widen the A12 Colchester bypass was included along with the Chelmsford bypass in RIS1. These are being developed as potential candidates for RIS2, along with the proposed A120 scheme and other proposals across the country. We are determined to run a fair process on the merits, but the merits of Essex are considerable, so we hope they will be successful.
I recognise the importance of the county of Essex as a driver of growth and a source of much-needed housing. However, there are also further opportunities for the region to take advantage of Government funding and investment, such as the housing infrastructure fund, and I urge colleagues and Essex County Council to renew their excellent work in developing a robust, evidence-based case for the inclusion of their schemes in the second road investment strategy.
Regional Transport Infrastructure
Jesse Norman Excerpts(5 years, 9 months ago)
Westminster HallRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Westminster Hall is an alternative Chamber for MPs to hold debates, named after the adjoining Westminster Hall.
Each debate is chaired by an MP from the Panel of Chairs, rather than the Speaker or Deputy Speaker. A Government Minister will give the final speech, and no votes may be called on the debate topic.
This information is provided by Parallel Parliament and does not comprise part of the offical record
The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Jesse Norman)
It is an absolute pleasure to see you in the Chair, Ms Ryan. I am not a huge reader of Tom Clancy, but I think that Jack Ryan could take your correspondence course when it comes to bravery in public office, so thank you very much indeed. I congratulate my friend the hon. Member for Barnsley Central (Dan Jarvis) on securing the debate, and all hon. Members who participated in the wide-ranging conversation.
I know that the hon. Member for Barnsley Central, with his mayoral hat on, will hope, as do the Department and I, that he will be able to complete the devolution deal that he has in mind for the Sheffield city region, releasing powers and funding. Although I know that is not always the position held on the Government Benches, we have been working closely with him on that. As he said, transport is essential for prosperity, growth and wellbeing across the whole country. We recognise that good transport infrastructure is absolutely essential to productivity. That point was well made by my hon. Friend the Member for Thirsk and Malton (Kevin Hollinrake), who highlighted the productivity gap in this country. That means delivering new infrastructure, from strategic and regional priorities all the way down to the local level. I will touch on all of those levels, while addressing as many of the points that have been raised by hon. Members as I can.
As hon. Members will know, in 2017 the Government published a very ambitious transport investment strategy, setting out our ambition to build a stronger and more balanced economy within the industrial strategy more widely, and responding to local growth priorities. That has conditioned the investments we have made ever since.
On the road side—hon. Members know that I am the roads Minister—we have invested heavily in existing transport infrastructure and new schemes, with some £15 billion being spent through road investment strategy 1 between 2015 and 2020. In the 2018 Budget the Government published objectives for road investment strategy 2, which will run from 2020 to 2025 and include £25.3 billion to be made available to further develop and improve the strategic road network. We are developing an affordable and deliverable investment plan for RIS2, which will be published later this year.
I could not help noticing that the hon. Member for York Central (Rachael Maskell) was extremely rude about road building and called it catastrophic. Does that constitute a change of policy on the part of the whole Labour party? I encourage her not to think of it in that way, because road investment strategy 2 not only includes hundreds of millions of pounds for cycling and walking schemes and an enormous investment in skills, which she cares very much about, but paves the ways for autonomous and electric vehicles, which will be the vehicle—if I may use the pun—for the decarbonisation and greening of our economy in the longer term.
Jesse Norman
I do not have time; I apologise.
In the 2018 Budget we also provided a top-up of £420 million for local roads, particularly to repair potholes. A share of £3.5 billion of the national roads fund over five years from 2020-21 will fund improvements in the middle tier of the country’s busiest and most economically important local authority A roads, such as the A66, which connects Cumbria to the north-east. I have made no secret of the fact that, in the spending review, I am pressing for a local roads settlement that follows a similar five-year pattern so that local authorities have more visibility and more capacity to make strategic decisions at a level that is, hopefully, at least as good as the present one.
Of course, we are not just investing in the strategic road network; we are continually investing in upgrades and improvements to rail, including £1 billion that has been invested so far in the great north rail project and £3 billion that will be spent over the next few years to improve rail journeys between Manchester, Huddersfield, Leeds and York. Every train on the Northern and TransPennine networks will be new or modernised by 2020.
On Northern Powerhouse Rail, the strategic outline business case has been received and is under review. We expect to develop a response to it in close co-operation with partners across the north. It has been suggested that scrapping HS2 is the best way to secure Northern Powerhouse Rail, but that is naive, if I may say so. The Government’s commitment remains unchanged. HS2 is one of the keys to developing Northern Powerhouse Rail, not least because Northern Powerhouse Rail trains will use HS2 infrastructure, including on the approach to Manchester and between Sheffield and Leeds. That may mean that HS2 infrastructure will have to be built first, as a priority, before NPR can be implemented on those stretches.
Rightly, active travel has been mentioned and has been a focus of the debate. The hon. Member for York Central spoke about mode shift, and I could not agree more—I spoke at the Modeshift awards earlier today. It involves investment in air quality, cycling and walking schemes, our new road to zero strategy and the future of mobility. We are heavily involved in all those things.
We have published a cycling and walking investment strategy, which sets out ambitions for 2040. So far we have made £1 billion available to local bodies over the next five years to invest in local cycling and walking schemes. We have supported 46 local authorities on specific schemes that they have in mind. I share the view of the hon. Member for Barnsley Central and am delighted that he is appointing an active travel commissioner. I take my hat off to Chris Boardman and to the other highly engaged local teams at mayoral authorities that are making transformative differences.
There is a question about the city versus town balance. Recent Government initiatives, such as the future high streets fund and the stronger towns fund, which was just announced, have tried to recognise that. That city focus has been well picked up by mayoral authorities, however, and in Manchester we have invested £250 million through the transforming cities fund, of which £160 million is going on cycling and walking schemes through the transformative Beelines project.
Hon. Members on both sides of the Chamber have expressed concerns about regional investment. There cannot be much doubt that successive Governments have under-invested in the north, which we recognise. However, we are investing in the north not just because of that, but because it is the right thing to do and it is essential to our future productivity as a nation.
The hon. Member for Easington (Grahame Morris) rightly mentioned perceptions of unfairness. He is probably more sophisticated than I am in looking at the specific regional differences, but he ought to know that new figures from the Infrastructure and Projects Authority show that central Government’s planned transport capital investment spend will be higher in the north-west, north-east, and Yorkshire and Humber than for London, the south-east and the south-west as a whole. That conceals regional variations, as he will be aware, but it is a highly encouraging sign overall.
I will crack on in the few minutes I have left, because I want to leave some time for the hon. Member for Barnsley Central to reply. At a regional level, we have supported sub-national transport bodies, which are important from our point of view, particularly in the production of a regional evidence base for our major road network. Hon. Members will know about the transformative move that took place on 1 April 2018, when Transport for the North became a statutory body. It is not just about the north; the Government have been clear that investment in the south-west is also important to that region’s economy, as the hon. Member for Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport (Luke Pollard) touched on. That is why we have just published “Investing in the South West”, building on ambitious plans to grow the region’s economy.
The hon. Member for Barnsley Central rightly said that there has been a lot of focus on cities. I have mentioned three obvious ways in which we have tried to address that head-on: first, through devolution deals and wider city regions; secondly, through the £2.5 billion transforming cities fund; and thirdly, through the new stronger towns fund and the future high streets fund, which comprise nearly £1.3 billion.
The future of mobility is of great importance. We are thinking hard about how to improve mobility, which does not just mean the autonomous and electric vehicles that will require higher quality road surfaces and that underpin the need for continued road investment. It also involves the £150 million that we have invested in Transport for the North for smart and integrated ticketing and the investment we have made in future mobility zones across the west midlands.
In the minute remaining, I will quickly pick up on some of the points raised by hon. Members. The hon. Member for Slough (Mr Dhesi), who is no longer here, which is a pity, asked whether we were dragging our feet on western rail links to Heathrow. The answer is absolutely not. The consultation concluded in June 2018 and Network Rail intends to submit proposals for planning powers later this year.
My hon. Friend the Member for Isle of Wight (Mr Seely) asked a whole host of questions—I wish I could respond to all of them. I have looked closely at the Green Book and think there is still work to be done on it. Frankly, in many ways the Treasury takes a Department for Transport lead on it, precisely to get away from an overly financialised or economic view. We have a five-case model, which includes environmental impacts and others. If hon. Members would like to come and discuss with officials how that works in specific cases, I would be happy to curate a roundtable or something of that kind.
A question was asked about the fragmentation of transport, which is always a concern and something that the Williams reviews is looking at. The hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), who is no longer here, made a point about connectivity. I could not agree with him more. The hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle (Emma Hardy) expressed her gratitude. I remind her of the definition of gratitude in “Yes Minister”, which is, “a lively expectation of favours to come”.
Dan Jarvis
It has been a wide-ranging debate and I am grateful to all hon. Members who have contributed. There has been general agreement on the importance of active travel. Perhaps the Minister might consider appointing a country-wide active travel commissioner.
Dan Jarvis
I am delighted to hear that, because it will provide an important opportunity to join up the good work that is taking place across the country.
The point about the Green Book criteria might sound niche, but it is vital. I am pleased that the Minister has made a commitment to meet hon. Members to discuss the detail of those criteria. I look forward to that opportunity.
The point I want to end on is that the architecture and governance around the decisions that underpin transport infrastructure is a crowded field; lots of different organisations and stakeholders are involved, from national Government and the Department to Network Rail, combined mayoral authorities and local authorities. In the north, however, the landscape has changed recently with Transport for the North, which is doing an important job well and is well led. It has successfully established a consensus among leaders. Northern Powerhouse Rail’s strategic outline business case and the strategic transport plan show us that we can do it. We just need the Government to allocate the resources to underpin the plans that have been agreed in the north.
Motion lapsed (Standing Order No. 10(6)).
Draft Motor Vehicles (Compulsory Insurance) (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019
Jesse Norman Excerpts(5 years, 9 months ago)
General CommitteesRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Jesse Norman)
I beg to move,
That the Committee has considered the draft Motor Vehicles (Compulsory Insurance) (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.
It is an honour to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Walker. The draft regulations will be made under the powers of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 and will be needed if the UK leaves the EU in March—this month—without a deal. The Government seek reciprocal arrangements on motor insurance following this country’s exit from the EU, but in the event of no deal, we are under an obligation to ensure that the country has a functioning statute book.
The draft regulations will amend various pieces of domestic legislation to correct deficiencies in the legal framework for compulsory motor insurance arising from the UK’s leaving the EU without a deal. The draft instrument seeks to maintain the status quo on compulsory motor insurance, including the requirement for all third-party motor insurance policies to cover the European economic area, along with making technical changes to ensure that insurance requirements for vehicles in the UK are preserved. It will also amend redundant references to the UK’s being an EU member state.
The draft regulations will remove specific obligations on the UK’s Motor Insurers Bureau under the protection of visitors scheme, which is commonly referred to as the visiting victims scheme. If these changes are not made, the obligations would remain unilaterally on the MIB in the event of no deal. The changes will come into effect on exit day.
While the draft instrument was initially laid as a proposed negative instrument, we agreed with recommendations from the sifting Committees and the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments to re-lay the draft instrument using the affirmative procedure, acknowledging their concerns about the impact of the changes on UK citizens. I thank the Committees for their work in considering the draft SI.
It may be helpful to give the Committee some background on the legislation that is being changed. In 1930, the UK Government introduced a law requiring every person who used a vehicle on the road to have at least third-party insurance. Today, compulsory motor insurance requirements are governed at EU level by the consolidated motor insurance directive, which was implemented in the UK through the Road Traffic Act 1988 and subordinate legislation.
The amendments in the draft instrument are necessary to uphold motor insurance requirements as they currently stand in the UK if we leave the EU without a deal. The draft instrument will also deal with requirements under the codified EU motor insurance directive for member states to make arrangements to allow victims injured in a road accident in an EEA country other than their home state to claim compensation when they return home. This is facilitated through insurance undertakings, with member states appointing in all other member states a claims representative to handle and settle claims by victims injured in accidents abroad.
Each member state must also appoint a compensation body responsible for providing compensation in certain circumstances in which insurance undertakings through the claims representative fail to do so. Those circumstances include, for example, where there is no claims representative or where the claims representative fails to provide a reasoned response to a claim within three months. The MIB currently fulfils the compensation body role for the UK and is reimbursed by its foreign counterparts under the directive.
The amendments made by the draft instrument will be twofold. First, it will make amendments to reflect that, once the UK is no longer an EU member state, the motor insurance directive will no longer apply to the UK. If we do not make this change, which relieves the MIB of obligations under the visiting victims scheme, the MIB would be required to continue to reimburse its foreign counterparts in respect of EU27 visitors injured in the UK. It would also have cost exposure for claims made by UK residents injured in the EU, without being able to seek reimbursement from its foreign counterparts.
There will no longer be an obligation under the motor insurance directive on insurance companies based in the EEA to appoint a claims representative in the UK, as is currently required. The MIB could therefore face the additional cost of handling claims that would previously have been dealt with by claims representatives. That additional cost burden would most likely be passed on to its members—UK-based insurance companies—through its membership levies. Those members could in turn be expected to pass the costs on to UK motorists through higher insurance premiums.
The proposed change under the statutory instrument will therefore relieve the Motor Insurers Bureau of obligations under the visiting victims scheme and remove the potential cost burden that would fall on it if the legislation remained as it is. In future, without visiting victims provisions, UK residents injured in road traffic accidents in the EEA will still be able to make a claim, but they may need to do so outside the UK.
The rest of the amendments make technical changes to domestic legislation that are limited to what is needed for the legislation to continue to function effectively once the UK has left the EU. They maintain the status quo in respect of compulsory motor insurance requirements.
Jo Stevens (Cardiff Central) (Lab)
My question is about existing victims who have litigation under way—for example, someone who has suffered a brain injury in a hit-and-run accident in France and has litigation under way. If we leave on 29 March, the limitation period for bringing cases will change—pre 29 March compared with post 29 March—so what will happen to UK litigants after 29 March in that circumstance?
Jesse Norman
I am glad that the hon. Lady asked that question. The visiting victims provisions will be maintained beyond exit day for open cases in which legal proceedings were begun before the day on which EU law ceases to apply. After that, UK residents injured in a road traffic accident in the EEA will still be able to make a claim, but they will need to do so outside the UK.
On Northern Ireland, the UK Government remain committed to restoring devolution, but with exit day less than a month away and in the continued absence of a Northern Ireland Executive, the window to prepare Northern Ireland’s statute book for exit is narrowing. In the interests of legal certainty in Northern Ireland, therefore, the UK Government are taking through the necessary secondary legislation for Northern Ireland at Westminster. The draft regulations therefore amend the Northern Irish legislation to make equivalent provision for Northern Ireland as for Great Britain. That is being done in close consultation with the Northern Ireland civil service.
In summary, we aim for a comprehensive agreement on motor insurance following the UK’s exit from the EU, but the draft regulations are essential to ensure that in the event of no deal, the UK’s legal framework for motor insurance is clear and fully enforceable. The rules on compulsory motor insurance are at the heart of the road safety regime. We must avoid any disruption to their proper functioning if we can.
Jesse Norman
I thank hon. Members for their comments and questions. The hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull East rightly emphasises the importance of access to justice. It is a fundamental principle of our rule of law.
Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)
Will the Minister give way on the matter of access to justice?
Andrew Bridgen
Some 90% of hauliers bringing goods into our country are EU-registered, with steering wheels on the wrong side for our roads, giving them a different blind spot from our HGV drivers, particularly when approaching islands. Those hauliers are seven times more likely to be involved in a road accident than UK-registered hauliers, and according to the Road Haulage Association 20% of those accidents are never settled through insurance. Does the Minister agree that, when we have left the EU, we will be able to create a level playing field for haulage in the UK, which will reduce the incidence of accidents on our roads involving foreign drivers for which insurance is never paid out?
Jesse Norman
I cannot comment on the facts that my hon. Friend gives, but I certainly confirm that the Government are thoroughly hostile to insurance claims that are not able to be made or that are not properly settled, whomever they may involve. That is also, in its own way, an access to justice issue.
Returning to the point made by the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull East on whether we seek to negotiate the same arrangement, there are two scenarios to be considered. The first is that we come out without a deal. As he will be aware, the Government and the MIB already have very close relationships with all the corresponding entities. That contact has been maintained and the discussions about that unlikely contingency are very much in view, as it were.
Secondly, if the deal is accepted and goes through next week, or whenever it may be, there will be two sets of circumstances to think about after the transition period—of course, in the case of a deal there will be a transition period. The first regards what might be called uninsured or untraced drivers, for which we would again have to go to bilateral agreements, because they cannot be legislated for in their own right. The second regards drivers who are insured in the normal way, which we expect to be part of the future economic partnership. It is a measure of that discussion that they will be, I think, an important part of that. The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to raise that issue.
The hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull East also asked whether there will be Government support, which in a way bears on the question from the hon. Member for North Ayrshire and Arran. I think the answer is that, if it turns out to be a material issue, the Government will of course look closely at how people claiming abroad can be supported in that environment.
Karl Turner
What discussions has the Minister had with the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers, which represents a great number of personal injury solicitors in this country? I wonder what it has said about the proposals and what concerns it might have raised with the Government on this issue.
Jesse Norman
I have not spoken to that association, but I am happy to do so. I have no doubt that, in the course of preparing the draft instrument, my officials spoke to the association or were well aware of its concerns, which are well tabled and understood.
On the apparent lack of notice that the hon. Member for North Ayrshire and Arran touched on, she will be aware that the timetable is not of our choosing in every case. We have had to operate within a timetable that is in part based on the speed at which EU member states and their insurers, compensation bodies and so on are willing to go. It is not always the case that we can determine the timetable ourselves.
I hope that the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull East and his party will not vote against the draft instrument, which we laid in order to avoid additional burdens on the UK insurance industry, and therefore on drivers. Those burdens would inevitably be quite regressive on the least well-off drivers if they were passed on in the form of insurance payments, which I am sure he would not want. It is only in the public interest that we laid the draft instrument in the first place.
Karl Turner
I am afraid that I am not persuaded by the Minister. For that reason, the Opposition cannot support the draft instrument. We need to go much further, and the Minister needs to make an awful lot more progress on these issues for us to be satisfied.
Question put.
Draft Aviation Security (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019
Jesse Norman Excerpts(5 years, 9 months ago)
General CommitteesRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Jesse Norman)
I beg to move,
That the Committee has considered the draft Aviation Security (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Edward. The draft instrument will be made under the powers conferred by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 and will be needed if the UK leaves the European Union without a deal. As the Committee will be aware, delivering the deal negotiated with the EU remains the Government’s top priority, but of course we must make all reasonable plans to prepare for a no-deal scenario.
The draft instrument corrects seven EU instruments and makes minor changes to the Aviation Security Act 1982. The regulations contain the framework for providing security to passengers and for cargo travelling by air. They cover matters such as airport security, passenger and baggage screening, cargo screening, training and recruitment, and technical equipment standards. I will summarise the corrections that the draft instrument makes to the regulations.
Regulation 300/2008 establishes the framework for the aviation security regime within the European Union and sets out the common basic standards. The draft instrument makes changes to the scope of the retained regulation to reflect the fact that the UK will no longer be part of the EU after exit day; it does so by limiting its scope to the United Kingdom and by removing provisions that will no longer apply to the United Kingdom. The amendments also replace legislative powers exercisable by the Commission or member states with regulation-making powers exercisable by the Secretary of State, maintaining equivalent levels of scrutiny. In essence, the security screening requirements for all direct passenger flights to and from the UK will remain as they are today. That is the important thing.
Regulation 272/2009 covers screening and other matters. The types of permissible screening methods remain unchanged. References to Commission legislative procedures will be replaced by reference to domestic legislative procedures. Provisions relating to criteria for EU recognition of the equivalence of third countries’ security measures with EU aviation standards are deleted, because the concept of equivalence with the baseline standards contained in the retained EU regulations does not make sense in a UK-only context, where we apply additional measures over and above that baseline.
Regulation 1254/2009, the third regulation covered by the instrument, sets out criteria for allowing alternative, less burdensome security requirements to apply to airports or to demarcated parts of airports that deal only with flights, particularly non-commercial flights. As an example, such flights might involve light aircraft with a maximum take-off weight of less than 15,000 kg, law enforcement flights, flights for medical services, emergency or rescue services, and certain private or business aircraft flights. The draft instrument makes no changes to those criteria.
Regulation 2015/1998 makes detailed provision for the practical implementation of the measures contained in regulation 300/2008. The provisions cover access to airport security areas, airport planning, aircraft search, and passenger and baggage screening. It also covers matters such as cargo and rail security, security of supplies available in airport shops and on board aircraft, as well as recruitment and staff vetting procedures, training requirements and specifications of security equipment. All those elements are essential to aviation security. The instrument retains the provisions, subject to the necessary amendments to remove specific references to the EU.
Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)
I beg the Minister’s forgiveness for coming in slightly late; I was asking a question in the House. Can he reassure me that the regulations will simply move across to the UK so that we will have all the protections that we have under EU regulations?
Jesse Norman
Yes, I can confirm that, in line with the European Union (Withdrawal) Act, the purpose of the instrument is precisely to lift and shift regulations so that there is no substantive change between the position before we left the EU and the position afterwards. If I may, I will continue my speech.
Mr Sheerman
Will the Minister allow me to pursue him a little further on that? Some of us are becoming foot soldiers in the SI regiment and turn up here regularly to do our duty by scrutinising these SIs. Can he assure me that the Government are treating them all the same? Is this SI the same as all the others? Sometimes, when they are about something I care about and am really concerned about—I chair the Parliamentary Advisory Council on Transport Safety—I wonder whether they are a real opportunity to improve the regulations rather than just to take them as they are. Is there no scope for improvement?
Jesse Norman
Let me say two things. First, as the hon. Gentleman will be aware, this is a very complex area and the draft regulations cover a wide range of subjects, including—I have listed some of them—airport security areas, planning, aircraft search, passenger baggage screening and many others. Secondly, we are not in a position to—indeed, we have made an undertaking to Parliament that we will not—change the substantive provisions, even where improvements are possible for policy reasons that are widely accepted across Parliament. That is because this is a lift-and-shift exercise. It should remain open to Parliament to scrutinise, through the normal mechanisms, any further legislation that changes Government policy.
Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) (Con)
Surely the whole point of Brexit is that Parliament will be free to make changes to and improve legislation in due course, once we are out of the European Union. Until we are out of the European Union, we are rather bound by Brussels diktat.
Jesse Norman
That is one way of putting it. I would say this: the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 and this process with SIs establish a baseline against which a future autonomous British Government can make decisions.
Jesse Norman
No, let me finish my point. In many cases, the standards we choose will be higher—potentially significantly higher, as in some respects they are in the areas of airport security and aircraft security—than the EU regulations have been hitherto.
Mr Sheerman
I appreciate the Minister allowing my interventions. He and I work on many things together very harmoniously. May I say to him that those European diktats have kept my constituents and his safe for very many years? When we went into the European Union, many things, including baggage handling—preventing people getting illicit substances on planes, perhaps even including things that could destroy an aeroplane—were very casual indeed. We have a security system that has kept us safe for a very long time. Is that in danger? SIs about sharing data and information have been introduced in parallel with this SI. Those two things go together. Will the Minister assure the Committee that they will not be endangered at all?
Jesse Norman
We are wandering somewhat away from the SI before this Committee, but I am thoroughly enjoying what might be referred to as Thursday morning theatrics from both sides of the Committee. As the hon. Gentleman knows, the Civil Aviation Authority has for many years been a trend setter, a path setter and a standards setter across the EU. Much of the benefit of the European Aviation Safety Agency has come from its taking those standards and promulgating them more widely. There has been genuine benefit on both sides. We have benefited from the promulgation of CAA standards across Europe, and we have benefited from the scrutiny and feedback that those standards have received from EU countries, and vice versa.
Jesse Norman
I will take one more intervention before proceeding, from my beloved and hon. Friend the Member for Gloucester.
Richard Graham
As a former airline manager, I take some interest in these issues. The Minister is absolutely right that the CAA has been an important global figure in setting standards; in fact, its staff are seconded to EASA at the moment, and I believe that that will continue. Page 3 of the explanatory memorandum refers to deficiencies in regulation 300/2008 and goes on to explain, helpfully, that substantive changes are needed to address inoperabilities on incoming air cargo because we will not be part of the ACC3 secure cargo regime. That is clarified later by the statement that
“UK-ACC3, RA3, or KC3 designations will be issued to all carriers”.
In simple terms, can the Minister confirm that the objective is to ensure that we do not create any barriers to international trade, and that carriers that bring cargo into the UK will be able to do so exactly as before, without any barriers?
Jesse Norman
As I said, as far as possible we are aiming to replicate the existing arrangements. With his laser-like eye for detail, my hon. Friend identifies an important area. The regime will have to change a little as a result of Brexit, as I will set out.
One key area of regulation 2015/1998 is the EU inbound cargo regime. The EU operates a regime known as ACC3, which stands for air cargo or mail carrier operating into the European Union from a third-country airport. That is precisely the area targeted by my hon. Friend. In essence, it is a requirement for air carriers carrying cargo into the EU from a non-EU country to hold security designations that confirm that they are screening cargo to the required standards and that a secure supply chain exists from the origin of the cargo to its point of entry into the EU.
Responsibility for administering the system, and for granting designations, is currently shared between member states. If the UK leaves the EU without a deal, it will no longer be part of that system, but it is critical that we maintain our inbound cargo security protections. The effect of the draft instrument is to retain the requirement that carriers must hold a security designation in order to fly cargo into the UK from third countries, and to apply that in a UK-only context.
The new system of UK ACC3 designations will be managed by the Civil Aviation Authority and the Department for Transport. To ensure a seamless transition on exit day, new UK designations will be issued to all carriers flying into the UK that currently hold EU designations. On expiry, carriers and screening entities will need to apply directly to the UK for new designations, which will be granted using largely the same criteria as in the existing system, to minimise any additional burden on industry.
Regulation 2019/103 makes amendments to regulation 2015/1998 that are already incorporated. It also contains measures that apply only after exit day, and are therefore not retained. The only provision in the regulation that is retained relates solely to the date on which the un-retained measures apply. As such, the provision is by itself meaningless, and the draft instrument therefore revokes it.
Regulation 72/2010 covers the requirements for Commission inspections of EU airports and national authorities that will no longer be applicable. The draft instrument revokes that regulation. The draft instrument also amends the Aviation Security Act 1982 to remove references relating to Commission inspections and Commission inspectors.
Finally, Commission decision C (2015) 8005 is a restricted, confidential instrument that provides additional but security-sensitive details on the aviation security requirements contained in the regulations. For example, it sets the technical standards for aviation security equipment, such as the materials and quantities, and details the methods and percentages of various screening requirements. The decision will form part of retained EU law; however, because it is security-sensitive and not published before exit day, it is not required to be published on or after exit day.
As an unpublished instrument, before and after exit, the decision cannot be scrutinised as the subject matter of legislation by Parliament. As such, the draft instrument cannot make any amendments to it. As the decision contains defects if it is not amended, the draft instrument revokes the decision. However, in order to retain the important aviation security rules contained in the decision, the requirements previously contained in it will be made the subject of a direction, which will be given by the Secretary of State under powers contained in the 1982 Act.
The direction will form part of the single consolidated direction that sets out our domestic aviation security requirements that apply on top of EU legislation. The content of the new direction will be disseminated to the same UK entities as those that currently see the EU decision.
Mr Sheerman
On the revocation item, has the Minister heard that the United Nations organisation that looks after the technology of air worldwide, the International Civil Aviation Organization, is very concerned about that part of it? Has he had a conversation with ICAO and with the CAA on that point?
Jesse Norman
I can confirm that my officials have regular and continuing conversations with both the ICAO and the CAA, and they have considered the correct approach in some depth. However, if the hon. Gentleman or the ICAO, through a different channel, want to write to express further concerns, they are welcome to do so.
The draft instrument ensures that in the event of a no-deal exit from the EU, there will be a legislative framework for aviation security that will continue to keep passengers, aviation infrastructure and cargo safe and secure. I commend the instrument to the Committee.
Jesse Norman
If there are no other interventions, I will close by asking colleagues on both sides of the Committee to ignore the remarks made by the hon. Member for Huddersfield about my being a good Minister—a threat to my reputation that I will frankly struggle to overcome. I wish him well in his continuing efforts to say positive and sensible things about airport and aviation security, and I commend the instrument to the Committee.
Question put.
Banning Old Tyres: Consultation
Jesse Norman Excerpts(5 years, 9 months ago)
Written StatementsRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Jesse Norman)
Colleagues across the House will be aware of the potential dangers posed by ageing tyres. In that context I would like to update the House further about potential changes to legislation that the Government are proposing to improve the safety of buses, coaches, heavy goods vehicles and minibuses.
This country has one of the best road safety records in the world. But over 1,700 people were killed last year on UK roads, and we are determined to improve the UK’s road safety record still further. In my written statement to the House on the 13 June 2018 I reported on the progress made toward the ambitious goals listed in the Government’s 2015 road safety statement.
Penalties for using mobile phones while driving have been increased and commitments for police funding to tackle drug driving have been exceeded. Learner drivers can now gain valuable experience of motorway driving when accompanied by an instructor in a car with dual controls.
We are pioneering new mobile breathalyser technologies, supporting the use of photographic and video evidence in police enforcement, and going further than ever before in investigating the causes of road collisions.
However, in recent years the safety of older tyres on heavy vehicles has become a matter of serious concern to my Department, and to this House. This followed a tragic coach crash in 2012 in which three people from the wider Liverpool area lost their lives. Mrs Frances Molloy, whose son Michael was one of those killed, has campaigned unceasingly for a ban on the use of older tyres on buses and coaches.
She has been vigorously supported by the hon Member for Garston and Halewood (Maria Eagle), who has highlighted this issue in a number of parliamentary questions, and tabled a Private Members’ Bill on this subject on several occasions.
Responding to public concerns, in 2013 my Department provided guidance to all bus and coach operators on how to establish the age of the tyres on their vehicles, and against the use of tyres more than 10 years old on the steering axles of those vehicles. This was updated and extended in 2016.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency has also been monitoring compliance with the guidance on age: since June 2017 they have inspected 136,263 buses and coaches and found 82 to be non-compliant. I am pleased to say that this represents a non-compliance rate of 0.06% —that is, less than one tenth of 1% of over a 100,000 vehicles inspected.
But I, with the full support of the Secretary of State, have been determined to go further. In May 2018, in response to evidence that emerged from a collision investigation, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency introduced a change to roadworthiness requirements for tyres. In my written statement to this House on 23 November 2018 I announced further measures to address non-compliance with the tyre age guidance, and provide the basis for the Traffic Commissioner to intervene in cases of non-compliance.
Importantly, this guidance also covered the misuse of older tyres not only on buses and coaches, but on all heavy motor vehicles and heavy trailers.
A key constraint on this work has been the absence of robust and objective evidence as to the effect of age on tyre integrity. But we have addressed this issue too. In March 2018 I reported to the House that I had commissioned specialist research to investigate changes in the characteristics of tyres based on their age. I am pleased to tell the House that the investigative element of this pioneering work is complete, and we expect to report on the overall findings later in the spring.
Yesterday in the Coroner’s court there was another awful case involving an old burst tyre which cost the lives of several people. Independent experts came together to testify that here too age was a factor. Their analysis fits with the Department’s own emerging body of evidence.
The Government now intend to consult on options to ban older tyres on heavy vehicles, including legislation that could make it illegal for buses, coaches, heavy goods vehicles, and minibuses to have tyres more than 10 years old. We also intend to extend this consultation to taxis and private hire vehicles. Subject to consultation, we would expect antique and heritage vehicles to be exempt.
I would like to pay tribute to Mrs Molloy, to the hon. Member for Garston and Halewood, and to all involved in the Tyred campaign. Road safety affects us all, often in the most direct and personal and distressing way. As this legislation underlines, this Government are committed to ensuring that the UK continues to have some of the safest roads in the world.
[HCWS1362]
Draft Road Vehicle Emission Performance Standards (Cars and Vans) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019
Draft Road Vehicles and Non-Road Mobile Machinery (Type-Approval) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019
Jesse Norman Excerpts(5 years, 9 months ago)
General CommitteesRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Jesse Norman)
I beg to move,
That the Committee has considered the draft Road Vehicle Emission Performance Standards (Cars and Vans) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.
The Chair
With this it will be convenient to consider the draft Road Vehicles and Non-Road Mobile Machinery (Type-Approval) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.
Jesse Norman
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Howarth. As the Committee knows, the Government have a responsibility to be prepared for any scenario on EU exit day and will therefore continue to lay before the House EU exit statutory instruments for a no-deal outcome. If they are no longer required on exit day, we expect to defer, revoke or amend them in time for the end of the implementation period.
As the Department responsible for vehicle regulation, the Department for Transport has conducted intensive work to ensure that there continues to be a functioning legislative framework for this important sector of the economy. Although we strongly believe that leaving with a deal is the best outcome for the UK and the EU, it is our duty to make reasonable preparations for all scenarios. The statutory instruments are an essential part of those preparations, and they will ensure that there continues to be a well-functioning regulatory regime in the UK.
Currently, motor vehicles can be registered and placed on the UK market only if they have a valid EU type approval that demonstrates that they conform to EU standards, including safety and emissions requirements. The legislation governing that is a mix of domestic and directly applicable EU regulations.
The draft type approval regulations will ensure that the Government continue to have control over the registration of vehicles in the UK, while minimising the burden on manufacturers. The regulations were tabled under the negative procedure and considered by the sifting Committees of both Houses, which both recommended that they be upgraded to affirmative, given the potential impact on manufacturers. I thank the Committees for their consideration of these and other statutory instruments.
Sir Hugo Swire (East Devon) (Con)
This is an ill-informed question, and I would be grateful for the Minister’s answer. The legislation seems to pertain to cars and light commercial vehicles. Will there be similar legislation relating to lorries, buses, motorcycles and so forth?
Jesse Norman
I will come to that issue later, so I will respond to my right hon. Friend then. The most apparently naive questions are always the hardest to answer.
The regulations will require vehicles to be registered using a provisional UK approval, and they allow the Vehicle Certification Agency to issue provisional UK approvals to manufacturers who hold a valid EU type approval without additional costly re-testing. Importantly, the environmental and safety standards to which vehicles will be approved under the UK scheme will remain unchanged from those applicable under the EU regime.
There is a good reason why the UK should not simply accept EU approvals, rather than creating the UK scheme proposed in the regulations. Without the UK scheme, the Government could not act to stop another Volkswagen-type emissions scandal—we could not prevent those vehicles from being put on the road, withdraw approval of them or require additional testing to ensure that they conformed to the applicable standards until the EU had acted on the matter.
The regulations temporarily double the limits for the national small series type approval until the end of 2019. That specific measure reduces the burden of regulation on smaller manufacturers who sell only in the UK market. Many are UK companies that provide essential and sometimes unique vehicles and products to our domestic market.
The regulations are subject to a sunset clause, so they represent an interim arrangement that is valid for a maximum of two years. That allows the additional time required to develop a full UK type approval scheme and to correct the remaining deficiencies in the thousands of pages of technical annexes to the retained EU legislation. We will formally consult on those proposals, and we aim to lay the statutory instrument before the House later this year for Parliament to debate and vote on.
The draft regulations will be made for the most part under the powers conferred by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. To correct a deficiency in existing UK legislation, the powers conferred by the European Communities Act 1972 will also be used to harmonise the legal definition of type approval certification across the UK. The regulations create a UK approval scheme by amending the Road Traffic Act 1988 in Great Britain and the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1981. In addition, the regulations amend the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 to provide that vehicles entering the UK after exit day can be registered only if they have a UK approval. Further minor amendments are proposed to the Road Vehicle (Approval) Regulations 2009 and to the three retained frameworks for motorcycles, agricultural vehicles and engines for non-road mobile machinery, to ensure that that retained EU legislation remains operable after the UK leaves the EU. The amendments will come into force on exit day, except for the harmonisation of the legal definition of type approval certification across the UK, which will come into force 22 days after the regulations are made.
During the development of the regulations, the Department engaged widely across the automotive sector. We have spoken directly with all the major trade associations—the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, the Motorcycle Industry Association, the Agricultural Engineers Association, as well as those representing specialist manufacturers such as the Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle Converters Association. The meetings have included those who are directly involved in the day-to-day process of type approval, as well as people in managerial roles from manufacturers. Although the industry does not want a no-deal Brexit, it recognises the proposals as a light-touch, pragmatic contingency plan.
I turn to the draft Road Vehicle Emission Performance Standards (Cars and Vans) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. The existing EU regulations establish mandatory fleet average CO2 emissions targets for all cars and vans registered in the EU each calendar year. For cars, the target is currently 130 grams of CO2 per kilometre, and it will reduce to 95 grams in 2020. For vans, the target is 175 grams of CO2 per kilometre, lowering to 147 grams in 2020. Those requirements have been one of the key drivers towards improving the efficiency of new cars and vans since their introduction.
On the basis of those top-level targets, manufacturers receive individual targets based on a comparison between the average weight of their fleet and the average weight of all relevant vehicles registered in that calendar year. Manufacturers with heavier fleets receive individual targets above the headline target, while those with lighter fleets receive targets below it. As only the manufacturers’ fleet average is regulated, they may sell any vehicle they wish provided that the emissions of their fleet balance out to meet their target. Fines of €95 per vehicle per gram of exceedance are levied on manufacturers that miss their target.
The EU regulation contains a number of provisions that give manufacturers flexibility in delivering their target. Those include derogations, which ease emissions reduction requirements on manufacturers registering fewer than 300,000 cars or 22,000 vans a year; pooling, which allows manufacturers that fall under the same umbrella group to combine their registrations, effectively becoming one manufacturer for the purposes of emissions reduction; eco-innovations, which allow manufacturers to receive credits for technologies that reduce CO2 on the road, but that are not taken into account during vehicle testing—for example, the use of a solar roof—and super-credits, which provide manufacturers with additional incentives for registering ultra-low emissions vehicles.
The regulations align national policy as closely as possible with the existing EU regulation, providing certainty for industry that its already established business plans will not be affected by the UK leaving the EU. The regulations we are considering also ensure that we meet our long-standing commitment to having a post-EU emissions regime that is at least as ambitious as the current arrangements, and they provide the framework for the Government to assume the obligations and functions of the European Commission under the existing EU regulation. That can best be summarised by explaining that these regulations retain the target-setting approach and formulae establishing individual targets, as is already the case under EU law, but they will apply only to cars and vans that have been newly registered in the UK after exit day.
The related provisions that I have outlined—for example, the derogations and pooling provisions—are also amended by the regulations to make sure that those provisions will work sensibly in the UK context while maintaining existing standards. All minor deficiencies have also been corrected as appropriate—for example, by replacing “Commission” with “Secretary of State”. Six related delegated regulations and 25 implementing decisions that will be retained are also amended by this statutory instrument to ensure their continued function in the UK. The amendments will come into force on exit day.
Legislation on CO2 targets does not directly exist in the EU at present, so the targets are for vans and cars only. Provisions on the monitoring and reporting of data from heavy goods vehicles have been laid before the House in a separate statutory instrument.
Although we want a deal that recognises the equivalence of UK and EU type approval schemes, the changes made in the type approval regulations and the new car and van CO2 emissions standards regulations will ensure that we retain control of the registration of vehicles; that we maintain continuity of vehicle approvals and emissions; that we minimise costs to industry; and that the legal framework continues to work after the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union, while maintaining the Government’s commitment, set out in the strategy “The Road to Zero”, to
“a future approach as we leave the European Union that is at least as ambitious as the current arrangements for vehicle emissions regulation.”
I hope colleagues will join me in supporting the regulations, and I commend them to the Committee.
Jesse Norman
I thank all hon. Members who have contributed. The hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull East asked about the timing of legislation, and I assure him that we expect to lay a second statutory instrument before the House by the end of the summer. That is well in hand.
I am not sure what question the hon. Member for Edinburgh North and Leith asked. She denounced us for being bonkers with the constitution when it is, of course, SNP policy to do exactly the same thing with the UK. I have no doubt that a considerable body of legislation would have to be homologated in Scotland’s own constitutional arrangements, whatever they are, once that had taken place.
The Chair
This is all very interesting, but I am sure the Minister will now move on to the regulations.
Jesse Norman
I will indeed, but I think it is important to give the hon. Lady the proper scope, and to acknowledge and recognise her venting. I wondered why she was venting, but then I realised that she had appeared in an episode of “Home and Away”, and therefore it came with the turf. It is right to say that these are serious pieces of legislation. In fact, work has been done on the impact assessment—I think that was the one substantive point that the hon. Lady raised—but it is of a de minimis kind.
The hon. Member for Oxford East rightly raised a point about the urgency of and need for the legislation, and I share her view. That is why we are taking the matter as seriously as we are doing, and it is why we are pressing ahead with the statutory instruments that we are considering and those that are to come.
Question put.
Drones
Jesse Norman Excerpts(5 years, 10 months ago)
Written StatementsRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Jesse Norman)
My noble Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Baroness Sugg) has made the following written statement.
Today I am setting out the Government’s recent action on drones, including legislative amendments to the Air Navigation Order 2016 that will be laid before Parliament today.
Last year, the Government legislated to make flying drones above 400 feet or within 1 km of an airport boundary illegal. This 1 km restriction measure was a first step in protecting our airports and aircraft while the Department gathered further evidence and engaged with stakeholders through our recent consultation.
The highly irresponsible and dangerous disruption caused by drones to flights at Gatwick and Heathrow airports recently highlighted the risks. While the use of drones at Gatwick and Heathrow was already illegal, it is extremely important that regulation provides protection which reduces, as much as possible, the airspace where drones and manned aircraft can come into close proximity with each other. Therefore, the Government have decided to extend the restriction zone around airports, as announced to Parliament in January.
The amendment laid today will put into law the extension of the restriction zone around protected aerodromes where drones cannot be flown without permission. The new restriction zone will include an airport’s aerodrome traffic zone (ATZ) as well as 5 km by 1 km extensions from the end of runways to protect take-off and landing paths. All drones will be restricted from flying within this zone unless appropriate permission is granted.
The extended restriction zone will come into force on 13 March this year.
In addition to legislation, it is crucial that the public are aware of the rules on the use of drones, so today we are expanding our national campaign, in partnership with the Civil Aviation Authority, to boost public awareness.
The Department for Transport has today written to airports and local authorities asking them to publicise the new rules and to help to educate passengers and the public about responsible drone use. To help with this, the Department is providing a digital tool kit to explain the rules simply and clearly and to promote the Civil Aviation Authority’s drone safe campaign and drone code guidance. This includes maps detailing the new restriction zones at each individual airport.
The Government are preparing a new drones Bill, which will give police powers to clamp down on those misusing drones and other small unmanned aircraft, including a power to access electronic data stored on drones with a warrant. In addition, the Home Office is also today announcing new stop and search powers for drones around aerodromes, which will also be included in the Bill.
These enforcement powers will complement legislation introduced last year which will require the mandatory registration of operators and the online competency testing of remote pilots for drones over 250 grams. These requirements will become a legal obligation in November this year and work with the new police powers to increase accountability and clamp down on irresponsible and dangerous behaviour.
The Home Office is further reviewing the UK’s response to the malicious use of drones, and will consider how best to protect the full range of the UK’s critical national infrastructure, as well as testing and evaluating technology to counter drones.
The Government will continue to work closely with industry and other partners on regulation, anticipating future innovations wherever possible in order to keep our airports secure and our airspace safe.
These actions will help to combat the misuse of drones, so that small unmanned aircraft can be used safely and securely, and continue to support the development and growth of this rapidly expanding new industry.
[HCWS1344]